Garboard plank misfit

[Wherry Jack]

I am building a wherry with a plank keel. I am planking with 1/4" plywood. The bevel on the keel has been cut and the keelplank is on a strong plankwith the forms, stem post and transome attached. As I clamp the garboard plank to the keel my beveled edge touches at the bottom of the keel but their is a 1/16" gap at the top of the keel If I do any more cutting on the plank the garboard will have to be forced to fit. It fits fair now with the minimal contact. What should I do.shim with wood, fill with thickened epoxy or what? :confused:

[Bayboat]

Hi Wherry Jack: From your description it sounds as if a slight reshaping of the bevel on the keel plank might do the trick. Put a temporary batten along where the top (towards the sheer) edge of the garboard as lined out will go. Using a straightedge from the inside of the batten to the bevel on the keel plank to check as you go, plane accordingly until the bevel is right. It won't take much off the edge of the bevel to let the garboard plank meet the bevel fairly.

Assuming that your planking is lapstrake, since you will be beveling other planks, it would be worthwhile to attach a stick to the side of your plane, to run along the inside of the temporary batten and thus govern the bevel being planed. If you are using an iron plane, like Stanley or Record #3 or #4, you can drill and tap a hole in the side to receive a machine screw bedded in the end of the stick. The stick should be in the plane of the plane's sole. You could affix a stick to a block plane as well, although the bevel will be smoother with a larger plane. Hope this is clear.